The First time that (I) He Died to my body was in February 1996. I wanted to end it all, I was driving home after rehearsal with the youth Ballet company I was a member of and wanted to drive my car off the side of the road. I was told some news that had/has forever changed my life. Being gay in a small town 20 minutes outside of Detroit, means you have to do everything in your power not to been seen as No Punk! That means walking the streets so no one will fuck with you, and yes that means the same thing within the gay community (we can be so horrible to each other). The Second time I had to die was in a very toxic relationship. And I am thankful that it was only one incident of abuse. I walked away….but I really wanted to stay. That was an extremely Hard decision to make. My self-worth wanted any kind of attention, it craved to be wanted not respected. I became as cold and hard as Concrete after that relationship. I wanted nothing to do with Nigga’s at all. I felt the need to Man Up, and be someone I could not be. Be someone I was not. The Third time I died was me not understanding that being free in my body (sexually) was a direct connection to my lack of self-worth. I was too fat, too ugly and “lacked” intelligence to be loved (so I thought).....so giving away my body was “the next best thing”. I just wanted a black man to sing a Lullaby to me. The Fourth time I died to my body, I was in a “relationship” with someone who mentally, spiritually and emotionally abused me. That relationship was a Train wreck and it sent me down a year long spiral of discovery. Something was in my ear very Loud and Clear that things needed to shift.
A note from Dani Tirrell These are some of the words that have guided me through this process.
"If they don’t see happiness in the picture, at least they will see the black." —Chris Marker, Sans Soleil
"Because white men can’t police their imagination black people are dying." —Claudia Rankine
"Blackness in the white imagination has nothing to do with black people." —Claudia Rankine
"There is nothing to prove Nothing to protect Nothing for me to hide Nothing to defend" —Lisa Nichols
"People don’t see you as you are, they see you as they are." —KCLAnderson
"I am for the joy and liberation of black folks." "What are you willing to sacrifice in order for you to live in the world you say you want?" "I love everyone, I just love black folks more." "Stop apologizing for existing." "I have to stand in the negative shit I do to people." —Dani Tirrell
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FUBU Solange Knowles One for us All my niggas in the whole wide world All my niggas in the whole wide world Made this song to make it all y'all's turn For us, this shit is for us All my niggas let the whole world know Play this song and sing it on your terms For us, this shit is for us Don't try to come for us All my niggas got the whole wide world Tell them niggas that it's all our turn This us, some shit is a must Some shit is for us When you know you gotta pay the cost Play the game just to play the boss So you thinking what you gained, you lost But you know your shit is taking off, oh When you driving in your tinted car And you're criminal, just who you are But you know you're gonna make it far, oh When you feeling all alone And you can't even be you up in your home When you even feeling it from your own When you got it figured out When a nigga tryna board the plane And they ask you, "What's your name again?" Cause they thinking, "Yeah, you're all the same" Oh, it's for us All my niggas in the whole wide world Made this song to make it all y'all's turn For us, this shit is for us Some shit is a must This shit is for us When it's going on a thousand years And you pulling up to your crib And they ask you where you live again But you running out of damns to give, oh I hope my son will bang this song so loud That he almost makes his walls fall down Cause his momma wants to make him proud Oh, to be us And all my niggas in the whole wide world Made this song to make it all y'alls turn For us 3
This shit is for us Sometimes we don't trust This shit is for us And we bomb on sight, on sight we must charge Host of my emotion, it's your call Liquor in my system, we must crawl Addiction, disobey the law Don't clip my wings before I learn to fly I didn't come back down to Earth to die All my niggas in the whole wide world Made this song to make it all y'all's turn For us, this shit is from us Get so much from us Then forget us Don't feel bad if you can't sing along Just be glad you got the whole wide world This us This shit is from us Some shit you can't touch Ooh, oh baby For us baby Yeah It's all for us baby Nobody else, baby All for us baby
Songwriters: Solange Knowles / Rostam Batmanglij / Troy Johnson / Dave Longstreth / Terius Nash F.U.B.U. lyrics Š Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Domino Publishing Company 4
Dani Tirell: Black Bois Apr 26–29, 2018 On the Boards, Seattle Running time: 1 hr 40 min
Choreography/Concept/Direction Dani Tirrell The Black Bois cast's and creative team's genders are vast, please do not assume everyone identifies as male. Please use their names or ask about their preferred pronouns. Collaborators/Cast David Rue Randy Ford Michael O’Neal Jr. Markeith Wiley
Stefan Richmond Kyle Bernbach Mycheal Hodges Cipher Goings
Collaborators Composer/Musical Director: Benjamin Hunter Poet/Writer: J Mase III Visual Artist: Roache the Muralist Lighting Designer: Amiya Pennbaker-Brown Sound Designer: DR Amromin Video: Rafael/a Luna-Pizano Photos: Naomi Ishisaka Band: Thione Diop, Camilo Estrada, Darrius Willrich Production & Stage Manager: Ravella Riffenburg Production: Zithri Saleem and Marlon Brown All songs written by Ben Hunter except Come Sunday by Duke Ellington Additional video footage Red Skin produced by The ARTHOUSE
Filming and photography during the performance is not permitted.
Black Bois is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and by an artist grant from 4Culture. It was developed at On the Boards through the Performance Production Program, made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. This performance is also funded by ArtsWA.
On the Boards’ season is supported by the Boeing Company, Garneau-Nicon Family Foundation, Microsoft, The Tulalip Tribe, and ArtsFund.
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THANK YOU Dani Tirrell would like to thank the staff at OtB for your constant support and our growth together for a more diverse art community in Seattle. To the artists and creative team you all rock and this is not my work it is our work. Mr. B thank you for loving me through this process and allowing me to show up or not show up. I love you.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS DANI TIRRELL creates movement pieces inspired by Dani’s queer, gender non-conforming, and black experience. Dani has danced with Jazz and Spirit Dance Theater of Detroit, Monroe Ballet Company, and Dani Tirrell Dance Theater. Dani has performed and shown work at Black Choreographers Festival (San Francisco), Gay City Arts (Seattle), Bumbershoot: Velocity Dance Center Showcase, Showing Out: Black Contemporary Choreographers (Seattle), Young Tanz Sommer (Austria), Northwest New Works Festival: On the Boards (Seattle), Risk/Reward (Portland), Seattle Art Museum, and Erased (Color Lines Dance Ensemble) as part of Nights at the Neptune (Neptune Theater, Seattle).
She has been featured in Velocity Dance Center’s Next Fest NW, CD Forum’s Showing Out: Contemporary Black Choreographers, Bumbershoot Festival, Birthday Girl Series #5, Legendary Children at Seattle Art Museum, and Beacon Hill Block Party, among other community events. Casted as Lady in Jerome A. Parker’s House of Dinah at On the Boards, they’ve also been recognized on City Arts Magazine’s 2018 Future List and received a SeattleDances 2016 DanceCrush Award. Randy has worked with artists such as Dani Tirrell (Genre Bender, Black Bois), Markeith Wiley (IT’S NOT TOO LATE), Kitten N’ Lou (CAMPTACULAR), and BenDeLaCreme (Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor). Identifying as a Black non-binary transfemme, their work continues the conversation about race, gender, and intersectionality. When not onstage they teach at Vashon Dance Academy, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, and with YMCA Powerful Schools.
COLLABORATORS KYLE BERNBACH: I am humbled to take part in Black Bois and to participate in this movement that highlights and honors the Black experience. This work is creatively fulfilling as well as therapeutic and in equal, significant amounts—not the norm in this industry. Be open as you witness our process, our struggle, our joy, our bodies, our story. My hope is that you rise from your seat afterward changed. #blacklivesmatter
CIPHER GOINGS is an accomplished dancer and aspiring actor. He has been dancing since the age of 7 at Northwest Tap Connection Dance Studio. He has been trained in Ballet, Hip Hop, Modern, and Rhythm Tap. Cipher has performed professionally since the age of ten, first as a member of the New Horizon’s Modern and Tap Company and then with the Youth Tap Ensemble beginning at the age of 12. He has received additional training and performance opportunities at the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, DC Tap Festival, and the Floripa Tap Festival in
RANDY FORD is a Seattle-born dancer, choreographer, actor, and activist. She/ they grew up learning choreography in their living room from watching music videos as a child. It wasn’t until the age of 17 when performing became a reality. 6
J MASE III is a Black/trans/queer poet & educator based in Seattle by way of Philly. As an educator, Mase has worked with community members in the US, UK, and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA youth in spaces such as K-12 schools, universities, faith communities and restricted care facilities. He is founder of awQward, the first trans and queer people of color talent agency. Currently, he is co-editing the #BlackTransPrayerBook alongside artist/ Priestess Dane Figueroa Edidi. His work has been featured on MSNBC, Essence Live, Everyday Feminism, Black Girl Dangerous, the New York Times, Buzzfeed, the Root, the Huffington Post, and more. jmaseiii.com Instagram: @jmaseiii
Brazil. Cipher has taken master classes from many talented, notable dancers such as Lane Alexander, Chloe Arnold, Maud Arnold, Sonia Dawkins, Michelle Dorrance, Derrick Grant, Gene Medler, Nico Rubio, Matthew Rushing, Dormeshia SumbryEdwards, Jumaane Taylor, Dianne Walker and many more. Cipher is an avid performer and has fascinated audiences in shows such as The Groovement, Grace Theater Production, Global Dance Party at the Moore Theater, as a Featured Solo in Fela Kuti’s Everything Scatter at Northwest Tap Connection’s Show a Taste of Broadway, and many more. He feels very passionate when he dances, dance is a feeling. Movement is an intimate artistic expression. When he dances to the music he becomes rhythm, it is fun and he is free.
MICHAEL O'NEAL JR. (MAJINN) is a queer mixed African American professional dance artist and teacher who utilizes his training in both street and classical dance styles to find and express his whole self. Majinn believes that to be the best dancer and person he can be he should be versatile and push his own comfort zone. Through dance he has grown to become a dancer and teacher who loves to see his students growth as well as grow with his students. Through his art Majinn hopes to inspire those he can, to follow their dreams and continue to grow in everyday life. Majinn is a part of both Chapter1NE and Beat Hippies dance crews as well as Seattle’s Au Collective. You can find Majinn under the moniker Choreomike on YouTube and Majinn_Mike on other social media.
MYCHAEL HODGES II is a Seattle native that has been dancing since the age of 2. Mychael continues his traning in Rhythm Tap, Hip Hop, Modern and House with Northwest Tap Connection (since the age of 5) and ABK/ Kuttnup Entertainment (since the age of 8). In the summer of 2017 Mycheal played The Scarecrow in Langston Hughes Teen Summer Musical’s production of The Wiz. Mychael is currently teaching Hip Hop with DASS Dance while also running track with Garfield High school. BENJAMIN HUNTER is a musician, composer, educator, and community entrepreneur. His work focuses on the intersections of music, culture, and community engagement. Primarily a violinist, he also plays mandolin, guitar, percussion, and sings. He plays in an internationally touring American Roots duo with Joe Seamons, winning the International Blues Competition in 2016. Ben plays a variety of styles of music, with particular interest in world folk music. In the community, Benjamin is the founder of a small arts and community organization, Community Arts Create; the co-founder of social justice incubator, The Hillman City Collaboratory; and he is co-founder of the soon-to-be opened performance hall and restaurant, Black & Tan Hall.
STEFAN RICHMOND is a Colorado native, movement-based actor, and performance artist. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Dance, he made his way to the PNW through the Intiman Emerging Artist Program in 2016. As a creative collaborator and storyteller, he believes in the power of storytelling, and its ability to heal. His work seeks to examine the intersections of stories and emotions related to physical space, natural movement within the body, and language/text. His other recent Seattle 7
credits include Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super Soaking Stream of Invention (BookIt), Pylon III (Tectonic Marrow Society), The Earth Shakes (Heron Ensemble), Daddy (Forward Flux Salon Series), Carry We Openly (Amador/Stokes), and The House of Dinah (Andrew Russell/Dani Tirrell). Words would do no justice to the amount of love and awe he has for this team of beautiful humans, creators, kings and queens.
of late this anti-social extrovert dabbles in dance, sound, theater, a combo of all three or none of the above. Wiley has been an arts educator in Seattle for a while now. When they are not in the studio you can find Markeith at Rainier Dance Center in Rainier Beach or on Capitol Hill as a managing artist director at Studio Current or choreographing with both Seattle Children's Theater and 5th Avenue Theater. Markeith holds a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts and has performed or collaborated with Keith Henessesy, Kitten n' Lou, The Dance Cartel, Lingo, The Grief Girls, Mother Tongue, Erik Blood, Forward Flux, Natasha Marin, Tyisha Nedd, and many more. In the evenings Wiley hosts a DJ event at Vermillion gallery and bar with fellow music enthusiast Alice Gosti and has started a monthly performance party at Studio Current called SC Sessions. Wiley was a member of the 2014 City Arts Future List & also graced the cover of the magazine as well. They are not big on congratulations after performing, so instead of saying "Good Job!" Just look him in the eyes and smile. Don't take it personal —Monica
Known by most as Roachethemuralist, BRANDON XAVIER ROACHE is a Seattle based artist of color who is determined to provide a creative outlet for his community. Since Roache graduated from Alfred University in 2016, his work has been showcased in New York’s Robert C. Turner Gallery, The Factory in Seattle, Base: Experimental Arts Space, and has been published in The Stranger and City Arts Magazine. He has painted many murals in Seattle, including being the site supervisor for the city’s largest (under the I-5 bridge at Cherry St). Some of his murals were done with the partnership of UrbanArtworks Seattle, where he has also taught classes and workshops for teenagers. His time working with UrbanArtworks Seattle has allowed for his passion for community based art to grow. DAVID RUE is a dance artist born in Liberia, and raised in Minnesota. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor of individualized studies that combined Journalism, English, and Dance. From 2011-2015, he performed with TU Dance (directed by Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands) in St. Paul, MN where he danced the works of Dwight Rhoden, Camille A. Brown, Greg Dolbashian, Katrin Hall, and Uri Sands. He has also worked as a freelance arts and entertainment writer for the Minneapolis based publication, The Line Media. David holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University and works as the Public Programs Coordinator at Seattle Art Museum.
PRODUCTION D.R. AMROMIN (Sound Design) is a sonic storyteller always striving to enhance the audience and artist experience, seeing herself as a musician that works in the medium of collage. Locally, she has created sound designs for MAP Theatre, Dangerswitch!, Blood Ensemble, Annex Theater, and Sound Theatre Company among others. D.R. Amromin is the Resident Sound Designer at Theater Schmeater, and a member of the TSDCA. Upcoming at The Slate, D.R. will be cocreating (Re)Shape - an immersive installation investigating the mental landscape, May 25-26. AMIYA BROWN is Lighting and Visual Designer based in Seattle, WA. She holds a Master’s Degree in Theatrical Lighting Design from the University of Washington. Designing nationally and internationally
California native MARKEITH WILEY is a multi-dimensional art maker, who creates out of necessity. His vast movement vocabulary spans a lifetime of influences. As 8
for Theatre, Dance, and Opera, she specializes devised performance productions. Her work has been presented throughout the United States and internationally. She received a Gypsy Rose Lee Award in 2012 for her work on The Skriker (Janet Findley Production) and designed lights for Pat Graney's Bessie award-winning production Girl Gods. amiyabrowndesign.com
BAND THIONE DIOP (band) percussionist from Senegal, West Africa, is widely recognized for his powerfully expressive Djembe performances. He is descended from an ancestral line of Griot drummers in Senegal, West Africa, and is a master of the djembe, sabar, tama, and djun djun.Thione has shared the stage with such noteworthy musicians as Poncho Sanchez, Alpha Blondy, Prince Diabate and Max Romeo. Thione Diop and his group Yeke Yeke are well known from their many regional appearances in the U.S. and Canadian Northwest. In Senegal, Thione has collaborated with renowned griot artists Babou Laye Cissokho; master Kora player, Thierno Kouyate; Orchestra Baobab saxophonist, Thierno Ba; Xalam master, Samba Ndoc Tama player for Cheikh Lo and singer Abdoulaye N’Diaye on a number of tracks.
NAOMI ISHISAKA is a photographer, journalist, graphic designer and communications specialist with a focus on covering racial equity, social justice, and queer and trans people of color. She served for eight years as the editor in chief of ColorsNW Magazine, a monthly magazine focusing on communities of color in the Northwest and worked at a number of Puget Sound newspapers. naomiishisaka.com @naomiishisaka
CAMILO ESTRADA was born and raised in Seattle, but also lived for long periods in Nicaragua and Mexico as a child. He was somewhat of a late bloomer when it came to music as he did not start playing until late in high school. Interestingly it was 90’s west coast rap that set Camilo on his path to play bass and ultimately a becoming a professional musician. Once he learned that the music he was listening to was sampling old funk and jazz songs he began to delve deeply in to that music and decided to pick up the bass. After studying music at Seattle Central College and while studying at Cornish College of the Arts, Camilo began working as a professional musician in a wide array of musical styles from Andean music, to Funk and Zydeco. In 2013 he established his own band ‘The New Triumph’ which focuses on his unique Afro-Latin Funk Jazz compositions. The group has released two albums and plays extensively on the West Coast.
Ometeotl! Thank you to the Coast Salish ancestors of these lands/waters for allowing us to share our love-werq with you here today. I am RAFAEL/A LUNA-PIZANO, a proud two-spirit/ed creature of Ilokano, MeXican@, Visayan, and unknown americano/conquistador blood. I am honored to have been asked to work with Black Bois as videographer (and wannabe groupie), witnessing and documenting the sacred work and practice of the entire cast and creative team, as well as creating the video component for today's performance/ritual. I recently completed my Masters in the Native Voices Department at the University of Washington, where I studied the art of breaking down the colonizing tool of documentary film to be re-purposed as materials for ritual story-telling in alignment with my ancestral practices. I am also a healing practitioner, trans*-birth worker, trickster of ceremonies and earlymorning poet. I pray that you can connect with the vulnerable ceremony that is Black Bois in a respectful and humble way that allows cross-ancestral healing and honors the lives of our Black and Trans* familia. Tlazocamati.
DARRIUS WILLRICH is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and educator from Seattle, WA. He is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in jazz piano. He is a member of the faculty of Seattle Central Community College and North Seattle Continuing Education, as a jazz 9
piano instructor, and has taught music for seven years at Seattle Prep (his alma mater). He is the creator of the label Critical Sun Recordings which has now become a music community as well as a showcase for his and his colleagues’ productions. Darrius has released three albums: "Darrius" in 1999, “Love Will Visit” in 2003, and "Can’t Get Enough" in 2009. He is currently working on his fourth album and is the current keyboardist for Digable Planets and tours with them worldwide.
Darrius has made contributions to the recordings of Jake One, Vitamin D, Gift of Gab, Choklate, Donyea Goodman, Felicia Loud, Brent Arnold, Byrdie, D-Black, Nomad, Bubba Jones, Darren Motamedy, Justin Pinder, Fatal Lucciano, Big World Breaks, Dyme Def, Brent Laurence and Jaymz Nylon. He continues to create, write, produce, and perform as well as release new material and play a role in Critical Sun Recordings.
Black Bois: The After Party with Riz Rollins Sat, Apr 28 10 pm – 1 am The Hillman City Collaboratory (5623 Rainier Ave S)
We want to help spread the love to our community. THIS EVENT SAYS YES TO BLACK CIS AND TRANS WOMEN/ WOMYN AND WOMXN.
$5.00 for Black Bois ticketholders $8.00 for those without tickets. Cash bar
THIS EVENT SAYS YES TO BLACK NON-BINARY AND NONCONFORMING BODIES.
Please join Dani Tirrell and the Black Bois cast and team as we dance, celebrate, and love on our black bodies. This event will take place immediately following the show, and the one and only Riz Rollins will spin us into the night. And if you know anything about this group: Wear your most fashionable fits and bring your best moves. Facebook: bit.ly/BlackBoisAfterParty
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YOU WILL RESPECT ALL BLACK BODIES AND THE MANY WAYS WE INHABIT OUR BODIES. IF YOU ARE WHITE AND NONBLACK POC, KNOW THE SPACE THAT YOU ARE IN AND GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY. THE SEXIEST THING IN THE WORLD IS CONSENT! ASK FOR IT! NO HOMOPHOBIA NO RACISM NO CLASSISM NO TRANSPHONBIA NO AGEISM NO MISAGONY NO MISGYNOIR NO SEXISM NO XENOPHOBIA
A note from OtB Executive Director, Betsey Brock
When I first heard Dani Tirrell speak about Black Bois and black joy, my mind flashed to the opening quote that Claudia Rankine gave her epic poem, Citizen, An American Lyric: If they don’t see happiness in the picture, at least they’ll see the black. Chris Marker, Sans Soleil The French filmmaker Chris Marker wasn’t black. And the black he’s talking about here is an all-black screen with a voiceover describing the image of happiness. Marker’s point with that blackness was to suggest that when we think we are seeing nothing—we’re just not thinking about what’s actually there. Claudia Rankine was setting us up to think hard about blackness and the racism in our communities that is overlooked, ignored, and then perpetuated. Rankine's Citizen, has proved to be a trusty companion when thinking about how On the Boards’ audiences, the city of Seattle, and our art community might welcome Black Bois into their brains, hearts, and souls. Dani has been involved here at OtB in myriad ways over the past four years. Black Bois, Dani's dedicated work in OtB's Ambassador program, working alongside Charles Smith, Clare Hatlo, and Rachel Cook to shape the Open Studio program, and, recently, contributing to OntheBoards.tv’s first-ever master class. In Dani's work here, Dani holds us accountable and calls us out, sometimes with a gentleness that we don’t deserve. We are so grateful. A few years ago, when the artist Dana Michel presented Yellow Towel here, I witnessed a conversation with Dani, Randy Ford, Jade Solomon Curtis, Luzviminda "#LuluNation" Carpenter, and Marlon Brown at Hollow Earth Radio. It was a really joyful night – really electric, very funny, and super smart. I hadn't thought specifically about the term "Black Joy" at that time – but it was definitely strong there, along with black sadness and black rage. One of the ideas served that evening was around the idea of experimentation and blackness. Dana Michel brought up the idea – in a pass-the-mic rant session – that black artists are expected to work within parameters that will ensure success. And that taking risks, artistic, financial, or otherwise, is often not an option. With all my heart, I wish that weren’t true. I so don't want that to be true. But I know it has been, and in the greater art world, 11
it still is, quite true. We have (I have, On the Boards has) a very serious responsibility to work to make it untrue. Being allowed to experiment, try new things, weird things, political things, things that some audiences just won’t like, things that might even fail is not (or should never be) the purview or privilege of any one race, gender, age, ability or class. I hope that in Black Bois, in Dani's work with us in so many different capacities, Dani Tirrell has felt the room and safety to take risks, the support an artist needs to experiment, and the enormous respect, love, and appreciation Dani truly deserves.
Betsey Brock
A note from OtB Artistic Director, Rachel Cook
Dear Dani, I still remember when I first met you back when I was in Houston and jhon stronks brought you to DiverseWorks. I was working on a project with taisha paggett and WXPT in collaboration with Ashley Hunt and Kim Zumpfe called The School for the Movement of the Technicolor People. You came to our first Saturday class, which was part West African and part break dancing. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of joy in watching bodies dancing in the gallery together—families, small children, dancers, and non-dancers—each one holding their own space. The School was one of the most impactful projects I have worked on. paggett is invested in black queerness as a process of being, becoming, and doing. She works through institutional frames—art spaces, schools, museums, dance companies—in order to create a critical lens, as well as a new collective body of knowledge. The School was a performance platform that acted as a dance school. It focused on the limited positioning of Black and queer movers in the dance and art worlds amidst the evolving violence against Black bodies, gentrification, and the persistent erasure of communities of color throughout history. To me, Black Bois has moved through us at OtB, an institutional body of individuals, and my own body in similar ways. You talk about this live work as a world in which you enter into, and 12
where “Black bodies tell their own stories…where Black love and Black expression prevail. A world where Black stories heal, grow, and transform the lives they touch.” Thank you for creating this world, for pushing this institutional contemporary performance frame, and thanks for holding joy and pain in the same moment of liveness. Your work functions as much more than a dance piece. You have created an emotional platform for the dancers, movers, musicians, and audience members to sit with one another—being, becoming, and doing. Recently, I was working on editing an interview with taisha paggett and Kemi Adeyemi, an Assistant Professor of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington. In the text paggett references the idea of “blackening”: It evolved from something I got from my white collaborator, Kim Zumpfe... From a conversation she had with Frank Wilderson, whom she studied with at UCI… Paraphrasing what she recalled: It was a comment about the “impossibility of allyship” and that, from the perspective of a non-black person, the only remaining option is “to be blackened.” All to say I think about blackening these days as an answer to many contemporary questions. (Standing inside, standing with, rather than championing. Marking and getting marked. “Being with rather than on top of...” An answer that doesn’t answer but rather "others" a process, an invitation…) In my role as a curator, I have been thinking about this idea of the "impossibility of allyship". I like this idea of standing inside, standing with, letting mark-making happen on me, getting marked. I think about how movement, body language, and physical presence of live bodies in a space has and creates power, and how these movement vocabularies can tell stories of survival and celebration of Black and queer life. I love this phrase that you use to describe the work: “Black Bois is a love letter to Black bodies, minds, and spirits.” We love you Dani! Love, Rachel
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THANK YOU, OTB DONORS! INSTITUTIONAL & COMMUNITY PARTNERS 100,000+ |The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 50,000+ | The Boeing Company, New England Foundation for the Arts (National Dance Project and National Theater Project) 25,000+ | ArtsFund, The National Endowment for the Arts, National Performance Network
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Note: An asterisk (*) indicates a member of On the Boards’ 3 Year Club, who have made a multi-year commitment to support OtB. A carat (^) indicates consistent giving over for at least a 10 year period. $20,000+ John and Shari Behnke*^, Rich & Leanne Reel*^, Annette Toutonghi*, Merrill Wright^ $10,000 Ruth & Tony Lockwood*, Davora Lindner & Ro Yoon*, Prof. Maya Sonenberg & John C. Robinson*^, William & Ruth True $5,000+ Andrew Adamyk & Caroline Renard*^, Chap & Eve Alvord^, Tyler Engle Architects P.S.*^, Nancy & Joe Guppy^, The Ken & Judith Joy Family Foundation, Jason Starkie and Heather Kravas, Marge Levy & Larry Lancaster*^, Spafford Robbins*, Jimmy Rogers*, David & Dana Taft, Josef Vascovitz & Lisa Goodman*^, Ann McCall Wyman^ $2,500+ Norie Sato and Ralph Berry^, Greg Bishop, Matthew Echert & Jackie Ernst*, Jerry
10,000+ | 4Culture, Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation, Microsoft, Garneau-Nicon Family Foundation, The Norcliffe Foundation, Prairie Underground, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture 5,000+ | Aesop, Breakwater Investment Management, Robert Chinn Foundation, Tyler Engle Architects PS, The Nesholm Family Foundation, WESTAF
1,000+ | 501 Commons, Baby & Company, Dovetail Construction, Jean T. Fukuda Memorial Fund for the Performing Arts, Herbivore, Lane Powell, Mutuus Studio, Schuchart/Dow, The Pink Door, The Seattle Foundation, The Streamline Tavern, Tomlinson Linen Service, Wyman Youth Trust 400+ | Charles Smith Wines
2,500+ | ArtsWA (Washington State Arts Commission), Nordstrom, Olson Kundig Architects, The Ostara Group, Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund
Fulks & Stephanie Saland, Rodney Hines*, Schuchart/ Dow*, Maggie Hooks & Justin Ferrari^, Dionysus Giving*, Chiyo Ishikawa & Mark Calderon, Tom & Cyndy Israel^, Kirby Kallas-Lewis & KT Niehoff^, Robert R. McGinley*^, Inform Interiors^, Ric Peterson & Darren Dewse, Carlo Scandiuzzi, William Way, Timothy Tomlinson & Vu Pham^, Timothy White Eagle Turner, Case van Rij, Judith A. Whetzel*^ $1,000+ Brian Albright & Sandy DialAlbright, Holly Arsenault & Matthew Richter*, Jacqueline & Wayne Barnett*^, Kristen Becker, Karena & Ian Birk*, Kim Brillhart^, Maryika Byskiniewicz, Monique Courcy*, Florangela Davila & Glenn Nelson, Susan R. Den*, Sara Dickerman & Andrew Shuman^, Caroline Dodge & Ross Lambert, Jill & Wayne Donnelly, Sandra & Gerald Edwards*^, Mark Foltz*, Ariel Glassman*^, William Gleason^, Beth Glosten^, Helen Anderson & Howard Goodfriend, Pamela & Robert Gregory*^, Leon Grundstein & Marion Schwartz, Victoria Hardy, Wassef & Racha Haroun, Skye Howell Henley and James J. Henley*, Steve
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Hoedemaker, Dave Holt, Mark B. Kantor & Jane Zalutsky, Tim & Jayne Keating, Paul & Laura Kiely*, Diana Knauf & Bjorn Levidow*^, Tom & Jeannie Kundig^, Boyd Post & Tina La Padula, Alfred Lee & Alison Heald*, Pierre Lenhardt & Mariane Ibrahim-Lenhardt, Debbi Lewang*, Nikola Litven*, James & Christina Lockwood, Mari London^, Mark Malamud & Susan Hautala^, Barbara & Michael Malone, Doug Mora*, Deborah Paine & Randy Nichols^, Jane Nichols, Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard, Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert*^, Mary Ann Peters, Matt & Maren Robertson*, Sarah Rudinoff*^, Jennifer Salk*^, Duane Schuler & Sylvia Wolf*, Jeff & Kim Seely, Robert Stumberger^, Emily Tanner-McLean and Chauncy McLean*, Chad & Tina Urso McDaniel^, Moya Vasquez*, Claudia Vernia & Gail Gibson*, Nicholas Walls*, Paul Watts & Misty Weaver*, Susan Weihrich*, Sarah Wilke^, Carol Young $500+ Craig Blackmon & Tiffany McDermott, Kathy Bourbonais, Jeanie Chunn, James Evelock*, Jeffrey Frace^, Eric Fredericksen & Betsey Brock*^, Lanny French, Annick
Garcia Rooney*, Aaron & Karen Grady-Brown*^, Mike Samoya and Sharman Haley, Sarah Harlett & Dan Tierney, Sara Jinks, Heather Kravas & Jason Starkie, Khristina Kravas & Carlos De Vincenzo, Marriam Leve, Barbara Lewis, Pako Macias, Dana Martin & Keith Rea, Shelley McIntyre & Bradley Serbus, Mike McCracken & Keely Isaak Meehan, in memory of Stella Jacobs, Brett Arrington & Mark Olthoff, Stewart Parker, Ron Pederson & Jeff Sakuma, Mort & Sara Richter, C.L.Roxin*, Cathy & Max Sarkowsky, Paul Sherman, Lesa A. Sroufe & Matt Barnes, Nicole Stellner & Peter Eberhardy*^, George & Kim Suyama, Judy Tobin & Michael Baker, Kate Wallich, Marylyn Ward & Jay H. Johnston $250+ Jenny Abrams, Heather and Mark Barbieri, Miriam Bartha, Wally & Julie Bivins, Elizabeth Brown^, Gina Broze, Dan & Ginny Butler, Anne Couillaud & Thomas Forissier, Frank Dauer, J&D Delfs, Linda Derschang, Erin Boberg-Doughton, AJ Epstein, Andy Fife, Jeffrey Gerson, Toni & Peter Haley, Jay Hamilton^, Stephen & Marie Heil, Anonymous, Holly Jacobson, Sean Kennedy, Britt Karhoff & David Stern Levitt, Judith Linn, Michael Lockman, Elizabeth Lowry, Chasity & Adrian Malatesta, Jessica Massart, Peg Murphy & Steve McCarthy, Gene Gentry McMahon & Bill McMahon^, Alan Nay, Brian Paquette, Christopher & Rebecca Prosser, Aubrey Pullman, Katherine Ranieri, Josh Kenji and TJ Rhoades, Kathy Savory, Zoe Scofield & Juniper Shuey, Crispin Spaeth & Dale Sather, Joanne Sugura & William Massey, Tia Walker, Becky & Rob Witmer^, David Karp & Deborah Woodard^, Igor Zaika $100+ Jeff & Judy Altman^, Dana Amromin, Allison Arth, Barbara E. Bower, Carol Brinster, CJ Brockway, Marlon Brown, Carolyn & Alan Butler, Laura Butler On behalf of TJ Rhoades and Josh Kenji, Jena Cane & Eric Liu, Jennifer Chin, Jennifer Chunn, Mira Crisp, Martha's sister Diane^, Mary
Pat DiLeva, Marcia Douglas, Carmel & James Drage, Michelle Dunn Marsh, Dorit Ely^, John and Jeani Ferrari, Mark Fleming & Drindy Gier, Anne Focke, Jennifer & Scott Forland^, Pam Fredericksen, Kathy Fridstein & Mark Manley, Emily Geballe, Yonnas Getahun, Abigail Gross, Karen Guzak & Warner Blake^, Lindsay Hastings, Victoria Haven & Dave Lipe, Jeffrey Herrman & Sara Waisanen, Catherine Hillenbrand & Joseph Hudson, James Holt and Rose Bellini, Michael Katell, Erin Kay, Jake Keating, Tessa Keating, Jim Kent, John Kerr, Jesse Kingsley, Connie, Gus & Khristina Kravas, Wade Madsen & Eric Pitsenbarger, Cheryl Marland, Anna & Paul McKee, Becky McMahon, Al Mendili, Tracy Middlebrook, Lead Pencil Studio, Kari Palmer & Rob Weinsheimer, Walter Parsons, Zoltan Pekic^, Jessica Powers, Sherry Prowda, Owlie Hoot, Kathryn Rathke & Barry Wright, Paula Riggert, Ginny Ruffner^, Pete Rush, Wier Harman & Barbara Sauermann^, Kurt A. Schlatter, Molly Scott & Jarrad Powell, Patricia Scott, Courtney Sheehan, Molly Sides, Anonymous, Calie Swedberg, Michael Thompson^, Norm Tjaden^, Deborah Trout, Janet Upjohn, Huong Vu^, Keith Wagner & Doug Calvert^, Andrea Wagner, Kris Wheeler, Theresa Wingert & Ryan Gallagher, Jayme Yen, Brooke Zimmers, Bret Sepulveda $50+ Roya Amirsoleymani, Claudia Bach & Philip Smart, Chris Bennion, Nina G Bozicnik, Jessica Henske, Sally Brock, Anonymous^, Rebecca Cummins, Liza Curtiss, W. Scott Davis, Nathan Dors, Vy Duong, Nancy Edelstein, Bob Eisenman, Becky O'Boyle Fotheringham, Kai Fujita, Erin Gainey, ANONYMOUS, Annie Han, Dayna Hanson & Dave Proscia, Elizabeth Herlevi, Jamie Herlich, Garnett Hundley, Alison and Doug Jennings, Maureen Kamali, Rachel Kessler & Michael Seiwerath, Jody Kuehner, Audrey Lew, Kathryn Lew, James Louie, Rachael Ludwick, Ale Madera, Ella Mahler, Glenna Martin, Angela
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Mattox, Carol McNeary, Mary Metastasio, Dawn Monet, Kate Murphy, Lance Neely, Robert Pearlman, Whitney Petty, Margaret Piacenza, Leslie Reisfeld, Mr David J. Roberts, David Rue, Dacia, Rocky Salskov, Karla Schickele, Matthew Smucker, Ellen Sollod^, ilvs strauss, Christian Swenson, Jeffrey Morrow, Lenore Waldron, Kathleen Warren, Rolfe Watson, Wyman Youth Trust, Virginia Wyman, Petra Zanki, Emily Zimmerman, Michael Furst^ $10+ Dawn Aiken, Jeffrey Azevedo, Mitchell Baier, Camille Baldwin-Bonney and Matt Beaulieu, Theresa Barreras^, Sarah Bitter, Rachel Bittner, Colleen Borst, Lee Bradley, Linda Brown, Carol Buchter, Rob & Melanie Burgess, Ian Butcher, Karen Bystrom, Carol Chapman, Deborah Clothier, Kaillee Coleman, Ezra Cooper, Erin Culbertson, Edie Cutler, Lauren Davis, Peter de Jong, Judi DeCicco, Michael Eddington, Peggy R Erskine, Robert Feldstein, Deborah Frausto, Grace Funk, Jessie Gaupel, Nancy Gibson, Pat Graney, Edward Grant, Sarah Jane Gunter, Katy Hannigan & Roy Powell, Alexandra Harding, Jessi Harvey, Thurston Herricks, Kristin Hersrud Kopp, Mary Holscher, Melissa Huther, Don Jackson, Wendy Jackson, Jan Jacobs, Andy & Nancy Jensen, Sean Jensen-Grey, Stefanie Karlin, Alexandra Kendall, Joelle C Klein, Jake Knapp, Ted Knapp, Greg Kucera, Howard Kuo, Evan Lawrence-Hurt, Shane Leaman, Wendy LeBlanc, Judith Linehan, Margaret Livingston, Tonya Lockyer & BC Campbell, Kyle Loven, Kim Lusk, Jon MacLaren, Michael & Linda Madigan, Deborah Magallanes, Allison Manch, Sandy & Tim Marsden, Julia Maslach, Kaitlin McCarthy, A McColl, Molly Michal, Laura Gene Middaugh, Pamala Mijatov, Laurie Miller, Mory Maia, Caroline Myers, Phyllis Naiad, ximena narvaja, Cliford Newton, Alexis Odell, Eric Olson, Lea Anne Ottinger, John Stuart Patterson, Ryan Patterson, Amberlynn Pauley, Tonya Peck & Alex Dunne, Joshua S. Pelman, Rachel
Antoinette Wizenberg, Wendy Woldenberg, Helene Ruri Yampolsky, MATCHING GIFT PROGRAMS Boeing Matching Gifts Program, JP Morgan Chase Matching Gifts, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Matching Gifts Program, Google Matching Gifts, King County Employee Giving Program, Meredith Corporation Foundation, The New Foundation, Lynden Incorporated, Microsoft Matching Gifts Program, Morgan Stanley Matching Gifts Program, Union Bank
This list shows donors to On the Boards from Sep 1, 2016 through Apr 23, 2018 and includes pledged gifts. If we’ve made an error to your listing or if you would like to make a gift to support OtB, please contact Beth Raas-Bergquist, Director of Development, at 206-2179886 or beth@ontheboards. org.
PHOTO: JULIETA CERVANTES
Perlot, Ben Phillips, Jocelyn Phillips, Maddox Pratt, Beth & Allanah Raas-Bergquist, Merlin Rainwater, Bobbin Ramsey, Erica Reich, Laura Reynolds, Rochelle Spencer, Deborah Roberts, Luis Rosado, Peter Ruhm, Manja Sachet, Jose Sanchez, Nora Sharp, Craig Shields, Bruce Shoup, Jennifer Shy, Theodore Strack-Grose, Carlyn Orians w/Richard Swann, Jennifer Taylor, Susan Tesch, Carl Thomson, Julie Tomita^, Mitsuo Tomita, Jennifer Towner, Elizabeth Uselton, Laura Utterback, Laura Valiente, Thomas Van Doren, Shasti Walsh, Katie Watkins, Tara Wefers, Maggie Wegener, Amanda White, Sam Whiting, Kay Wilson,
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR KICKSTARTER DONORS! Your support is going directly to producing THREE new films for ontheboards.tv, including 2 masterclasses with Dani Tirrell and Zoe Scofield! Andrew Adamyk, Alethea Alexander, Roya Amirsoleymani, Kristen Becker, Ron Berry, Erin Boberg Doughton, John Branch, Kim Brillhart, Betsey Brock, Gina Broze, Miles Burnett, Catherine Cabeen, Cristiano Carugati, Liz Cortez Bates, Monique Courcy, Tova Elise Cubert, Edie Cutler, Sara Ann Davidson, Lauren Davis, Antoine Defoort, Caroline Dodge, Peter Donnelly, Kickstarter, Elizabeth Duffell, Matthew Echert, Michael Eddington, Tyler Engle, Elissa Favero, Jeffrey Frace, Eric Fredericksen, Jessica Gallucci, Maria Glanz, Ariel Glassman, Lyra (Hannah Goldberg), Hope Goldman, Ben Goosman, Aaron Grady, Can Gulan, Amanda Hamp, Alexandra Harding, The Hatlos, John Hoedemaker, James Holt, Josh Hornbaker, Michaela, Chiyo Ishikawa, Thomas Israel, Andy Jensen, Sara Jinks, Helene Kaplan, Liana Kegley, Suzanne Kosmas, Ingrid Lahti Eisenman, Tina LaPadula, Lena Lauer, Nikolai Lesnikov, Marriam Leve, Davora Lindner, Ann Lindsey, Nikola Litven, Ruth Lockwood, Mari London, Kyle Loven, Ella Mahler, Jessica Massart, Ben McCarthy, Shelley McIntyre, Rose McLendon, Natalie Miller, David P. Miller, Meghan Moe Beitiks, Kate Murphy, Seth Pacleb, Mary Ann Peters, Ric Peterson, Margaret Piacenza, Beth Raas-Bergquist, Jordan Rahne MacIntosh-Hougham, Amelia Reeber, Jackie Roberts, Matt Robertson, Brian Rogers, Jean Rowlands-Tarbox, James S Rogers, Jennifer Salk, DL Salo, Norie Sato, Norie Sato, Elizabeth Schiffler, Zoe Scofield, Jess Smith, Charles Smith, David Stern Levitt, Theodore Strack-Grose, Emily Tanner McLean, Dani Tirrell, Annette Toutonghi, Thomas Van Doren, Case van Rij, Josef Vascovitz, Kate Wallich, Lauri Watkins, Bill Way, Tara Wefers, Olivier Wevers, Frances Wolfe, Kairu Yao, Jayme Yen, Ellen Ziegler, Lars America Jan, Susan Chun, Casey Cochran Pflieger, Blaze Ferrer, Lise Friedman and Maia Wechsler, Patton Hindle, Makoto Inomata, Yvonne Lam, Daniel Sharp, Belinda Vicars, Krissy Whiski, Ingma Sad you missed donating to the Kickstarter? Check out the DIPJAR in the lobby!
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THANK YOU TO OUR INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTERS
THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION
KREIELSHEIMER REMAINDER FOUNDATION
GARNEAU-NICON FAMILY FOUNDATION
JEAN T. FUKUDA MEMORIAL FUND FOR PERFORMING ARTS
THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION
WYMAN YOUTH TRUST
NESHOLM FAMILY FOUNDATION
TOMLINSON LINEN SERVICE
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MEDIA AND COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS
DAVE HOLT
On the Boards would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on native land, and that this land was traditionally cared for by the Coast Salish peoples, including the Duwamish.
Founded by artists in 1978, On the Boards invests in leading contemporary performing artists near and far, and connects them to a diverse range of communities interested in forward-thinking art and ideas. We believe if we are successful in our work that we can grow our field, enrich peoples’ lives, and contribute to civic and global dialogues. We value: artistic risks while being fiscally responsible; leadership in our field and the multiple communities we serve to strategically advance the role contemporary artists play in society; racial and social equity, and accountability, to ensure our organization includes multiple viewpoints; provocative art as a vehicle to connect people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives; our local creative community as we engage with international artists and peers; and professional and transparent management. Staff Betsey Brock | Executive Director, Rachel Cook | Artistic Director, Rich Bresnahan | Technical Director, Sara Ann Davidson | Operations Manager, Clare Hatlo | Associate Producer, Kim Lusk | Bookkeeper, Mark Meuter | Production Manager, Pamala Mijatov | Director of Audience Services, EzeBasil Oluo | House Manager, Beth Raas-Bergquist | Director of Development, Erica Bower Reich | Patron Relations Specialist, Charles Smith | Director of Program Management, Jayme Yen | Director of Design and Communications Board of Directors Ruth Lockwood | President, Tyler Engle | Past President; Tom Israel | Vice President, John Robinson | Treasurer, Caroline Dodge | Secretary, Andrew Adamyk | Member at Large, Norie Sato | Member at Large, Kristen Becker, John Behnke, Kim Brillhart, Maryika Byskiniewicz, Brian Curry, Florangela Davila, Priya Frank, Rodney Hines, John Hoedemaker, Michaela Hutfles, Chiyo Ishikawa, Tom Kundig, Tina LaPadula, Davora M. Lindner, Mari London, Emily Tanner-McLean, Deborah Paine, Mary Ann Peters, Richard Reel, Spafford Robbins, Jimmy Rogers, Ginny Ruffner, Robert Stumberger, Annette Toutonghi, Timothy White Eagle Turner, Josef Vascovitz, Bill Way Off The Boards Advisory Board Carol Bobo, Dorit Ely, Jerry Fulks, Jeff Gerson, William Gleason, Karen Guzak, David Holt, Lorna Jordan, Mark Kantor, John Kucher, Marge Levy, Robert McGinley, Gene McMahon, H. Stewart Parker, Dave Roberts, Carlo Scandiuzzi, George Suyama, Virginia Wyman
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COMING SOON
MAY 10-13
KANEZA SCHAAL & CORNELL ALSTON: JACK & JACK & is a comedy of errors structured on social codes and trainings, from prison reentry programs to African American debutante balls. Conceived and directed by Kaneza Schaal, a veteran performer with Elevator Repair Service and The Wooster Group, JACK & combines influences from aspirational class stories found in 1950s sitcoms, real and imagined entering-society ceremonies, and tigers in Harlem to build a portrait of a dream interrupted and resumed. Exploring markers of transition and transformation, JACK & considers the measureless damages of being in prison—not the amount of time one has served but the amount of one’s dreaming that is given to the state. Starring Cornell Alston, a long-time member of Rehabilitation Through the Arts, JACK & features a set designed by artist Christopher Myers, which transforms from comedy club to kitchen to ballroom stage. Live music by musician and composer Rucyl Mills animates and contours the three-act story.
INFO & TICKETS: ONTHEBOARDS.ORG
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The Fifth time involved God...or God’s people. I joined a church that I found a sense of community and family. I saw God in those walls and in my church family. I was also working at a Christian television station in Detroit. After putting myself through a year of (abuse) hearing how being gay was going to send me to Hell, I had an Awakening. It was time to leave the church and leave God alone! It was hard to Hold On to my sense of humanity and self worth during that time. The Sixth death took place when I moved to Seattle. I was here with Mr. B., but I was alone. It was difficult to find community. Black folks seemed as if they hated each other. And dominate culture was the popular culture. My spirit was aching, I needed to find my place, my sense of being. I would go home (back to Detroit) several times a year just to Rest. The Seventh time I died was most recently. The thought of losing my nephew and what that would do to my brother was unbearable. You Could Not Contain the amount of grief I had and anger I felt. I was here in Seattle and my family back in Detroit, nothing I could do. But my brother's love was Transcendent and he showed me what true love was. He was clear and focused. He never wavered from his responsibility. He made/makes sure his son (and the rest of his family) has the best life he could provide. Come Sunday I will die again and again and again. But I know that I will have the Ancestors with me. They will guide me to my death, just to breathe new life into me. This Black Boi body will always have to die in order to live the life I want to live.